Group 7: Chalk Wolds

GROUP 7: ChalK WOlds GROUP 7: CHALK WOLDS P G AGE ROUP 7 S 209-226 Sparse settlement and isolated farm buildings are characteristic of the Chalk Wolds (© Lincolnshire Wold Countryside Service/N Gurnhill) 209 SECTION 4 210 7A: ChalK WOlds 7A: CHALK WOLDS Former drove road with wide verges (© Lincolnshire Wold Countryside Service/D Furlong) KEY CHARACTERISTICS ▪ Open, elevated and gently dipping chalk plateau dissected by a system of valleys including dry valleys that create a pronounced rolling landform; ▪ Huge expanses of field and sky across the plateau top with extensive views emphasising the large scale of the landscape; ▪ Intensively farmed character extending across the plateau with large scale rectilinear fields predominantly under arable cultivation with restored and mechanically maintained hedgerows increasingly evident; ▪ Changing crop patterns dominate the plateau top contrasting markedly with the numerous secluded valleys with their lush pastures and wooded slopes ▪ Sparse woodland cover on the plateau tops confined to occasional shelter belt plantations and beech clumps; Woodlands on steeper slopes and particularly within the valleys that dissect the plateau; ▪ Sparse settlement pattern on plateaux; elsewhere a dispersed pattern of small nucleated villages, often of Saxon and medieval origin located in sheltered valleys and spring-line villages at junction of the Chalk Wolds and Clay Wolds; ▪ Diverse Lower Cretaceous geology exposed in valleys provide a source of building materials that is represented in buildings constructed in the local vernacular; 211 SECTION 4 ▪ Plateau crossed by former drove roads with wide woodland are interspersed with cultivated arable verges that support herb rich grassland; and and pasture fields. This deeply rural area has an isolated and remote feel. The ridge-top salters’ roads, ▪ Area rich in archaeological features, notably spring-line villages and archaeological features are ridge-top ancient roads and trackways, notable features within this part of the broader type. prehistoric features such as long and round barrows, deserted or shrunken medieval villages and west east salters’ roads convey the sense of a PHYSICAL INFLUENCES long period of occupation. The chalk that underlies the Chalk Wolds Landscape Character Type is more than 100m in LANDSCAPE CHARACTER depth and forms part of a much wider outcrop that extends from the Yorkshire Wolds to the south coast The Chalk Wolds Landscape Character Type has a of England, in East Sussex and in Dorset. Prior to strong unity and distinctive character defined by the the deposition of the Chalk, the marine conditions open and elevated rolling plateau, broad sweeping that prevailed during the Lower Cretaceous Period views, and intensively managed arable land with its provided a sequence of deposits that is unique to the seasonally changing field and cropping patterns. A East Midlands Region. network of steep valleys including numerous dry valleys dissects the plateau area resulting in the The topography of the Chalk Wolds has been pronounced rolling landform. In contrast to the extensively and dramatically modified by glacial open and expansive landscape of the upland plateau and periglacial activity. In the final glacial period areas, the valleys have a more secluded character that peaked around 30,000 years ago the ice sheet with sheltered and ‘hidden’ areas and steeper slopes. did not reach the East Midlands but numerous meltwater channels were created as it melted, while The woodland cover across much of the open melting permafrost led to much instability on plateau is sparse and limited to occasional small steep slopes resulting in landslides. The Landscape blocks of woodland including beech clumps. Character Type therefore presents notable remnants However, the valleys support a lush vegetation with of ancient coastal cliff lines, glacial spillways and many areas of woodland hugging the steeper slopes meltwater channels, ponded lake systems and as well as in the valley bottoms. glacial tills and gravels all of which have played important roles in shaping the drainage pattern and The Chalk Wolds landscape is associated with the form of the current landscape. a long period of occupation resulting in a rich archaeological heritage with visual remnants of The Chalk Wolds are marked by numerous small ancient tumuli and deserted or shrunken medieval disused chalk quarries where the chalk has been villages. Ancient routeways and former drove dug for local use as agricultural lime and hard core. roads also cross the plateau, the latter characterised Chalk is also extracted from a few quarries for both by wide herb rich grass verges and species rich aggregate and industrial purposes, including lime hedgerows. production for steel manufacture and industrial fillers, for constructional purposes and agricultural To the east of the main area of the Chalk Wolds, use. extensive deposits of glacial till mask the underlying chalk with a gently sloping ridge dipping to the The chalk scenery offers excellent geodiversity east before merging with the Fen and Marsh Fringe interest with a variety of geomorphological Farmlands. This is the most heavily wooded part features and quarries representing much of the of the Chalk Wolds where numerous blocks of chalk sequence. In view of the range of geological 212 7A: ChalK WOlds exposures and geomorphological features, it is The soils across the Chalk Wolds closely reflect important that practices are in place for their care, the underlying geology. Shallow lime rich soils maintenance and management, and the promotion predominate across the plateau but in valley of their educational and interpretational interest. bottoms, freely draining lime rich loamy soils are evident. Although much of the Wolds has long With the exception of the area masked by till, been under the plough, grassland habitats remain woodland cover across the Chalk Wolds Landscape an important albeit often localised landscape and Character Type is low, but nevertheless is an wildlife resource. The majority of the Chalk Wolds’ important landscape and habitat component. Much grasslands and rough pastures are found on the of the present day woodland was planted during steep slopes where soils are thin and the ground the parliamentary enclosures of the late 18th and hard to cultivate, in the valley bottoms as lush early 19th centuries providing a mix of small game pastures and wet flushes, and in disused quarries. coverts, parkland, tree belts and avenues. Small plantations and clumps of predominantly beech, Grass verges associated with the network of with some ash, sycamore and pine, are still dotted roadsides and green lanes are a distinctive landscape around the Chalk Wolds, and where they occur, feature of the Chalk Wolds with some as wide as 20 form conspicuous landscape features that punctuate metres. Those found alongside the former drovers the otherwise open plateau landscape. roads and other ancient routeways commonly provide the most flower-rich verges and are thought The steep slopes within the many glacially modified to be remnants of pre-enclosure pastures. valleys and spillways, particularly in the eastern section of the Chalk Wolds, are more difficult In the past the verges were used for grazing flocks of to cultivate and often support fine examples of sheep en route to the coastal grazing marshes. Until woodlands on these marginal and undisturbed quite recently many of the wide verges in the Wolds areas. The largest blocks of woodland in the Chalk were cut and baled by farmers, providing a useful Wolds occur in the south east where the pattern source of ‘long acre’ hay, however, this activity has merges into the neighbouring Fen and Marsh diminished in the past decade. The verges continue Margin Farmlands Landscape Character Type. to provide an important additional grassland There is very limited ancient woodland with a rare habitat, often acting as linear corridors for birds, example occurring at Tetford Wood. small mammals and insects. The chalk is one of the main aquifers of the East Midlands. Chalk streams are one of the most important wildlife habitats in the Chalk Wolds, originating from springs from the chalk aquifer that emerge in the higher parts of the plateau and which flow over the chalk for a substantial distance. Springs occur either at the edge of the chalk where it meets the clay or where water rises through the chalk along structural weaknesses. Typical chalk streams are shallow and wide with a gravel bed. The flow is stable and the clear mineral-rich water supports a high diversity of plants and animals, notably brown trout, brook lamprey, spined loach, eel, water vole and otter as well as important invertebrates. Calkwell Hill Chalk Wolds (© Neil Pike, Natural England) 213 SECTION 4 CULTURAL INFLUENCES A large number of Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, such as the one at South Elkington, show the continued The Chalk Wolds has a rich cultural heritage importance of the area for ritual purposes. The signified by the wealth of archaeological and Wolds was important in the formative years historic landscape features that is present including of Christianity in the county with a very early some of the oldest human remains in Britain. Every monastery at Partney. Substantial numbers of period of human habitation has left its mark on remains date from the medieval period, with the landscape through a wide variety of cultural numerous monasteries and nunneries and one of features. the highest concentrations of deserted medieval villages in England. The oldest known evidence of human activity on the Chalk Wolds dates from the Palaeolithic period, More recent cultural and social change in the Chalk with an important stratified site at Welton le Wold. Wolds Landscape Character Type has resulted By the Neolithic period the Wolds had become a in further features within the landscape notably cultural focal point. Indeed, the Chalk Wolds has an a number of now disused airfields that were exceptional ritual landscape including the densest established in the First and Second World War, distribution of long barrows in the country and an taking advantage of the flat landform and strategic important grouping of round barrows.

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